Why fling salmonella around your kitchen washing the bird? Of course cooking it kills the "germs". The first Thanksgiving I had with my in-laws, I walked into the kitchen and my MIL was washing the turkey with Ivory dish soap. Yikes.

The only way you‘re going to “wash off“ any salmonella is if you use bleach or Lysol, neither of which will probably taste very good. ;)

Never have washed/rinsed poultry. Cooking is what kills the germs.

I have an oversized sink, so any rinsing (no soap!) is done in there. But I don't usually rinse. What's more important to me is to pat the bird carefully, inside and out, with paper towels to get it as dry as possible before I prep it for the oven.

I remember when they first send astronauts in space, when the astronauts came back to earth, their muscles were so weak from lack of gravity that they couldn't walk .

Our immune system is the same. It needs to be "exercised" to develop their fighting strength. The typical sanitary standards are designed for the very old, very young and very weak.

The same people who tells you not to wash chickens are probably the same people who told you not to flush your toilets because it can spread germs all over your house.

Use you judgement.

dcarch

I believe that advice is from the CDC.

And I don't believe anyone builds immunity to salmonella.

And contracting it weakens one's immune system, I understand, as do a number of other food borne illnesses. My 20 something cousin was very weak and in poor health for at least a year after she contracted it.

No rinsing or washing birds here.

Totally agree with no rinsing/washing.

"And I don't believe anyone builds immunity to salmonella."

Healthy people with a properly developed immune system and an avoidance of copious usage of antibacterials already have immunity against salmonella. Healthy gut bacteria will outcompete and prevent the spread of the salmonella bacterium.

And it will not permanently affect your immune system! In fact, most who contract the pathogen don't even require medical attention. And that is also from the CDC!!

An obsession with cleanliness bordering on paranoia with antibacterials and Adrian Monk wipes to the rescue any time you touch anything has a lot to answer for! A little dirt and bacteria never hurt anyone in reasonable health.

Oops - I misremembered. It wasn't salmonella, it was e-coli - another potential raw meat hazard. My apologies.

And who wants to find out just how healthy one's immune system is by testing it in that way?

"----- And who wants to find out just how healthy one's immune system is by testing it in that way? ----"

Who? about 10 billion people who have been doing that for thousands of years.

dcarch

Jacques Pépin does not wash his, and I do not wash mine. I saw him on a show recently with Julia Child, and she did wash hers, but I think she did quite a few things somewhat incorrectly.

I can't believe I've been so clueless on this all my life. I think I'm the only one here who washes the poultry! But at least I don't bathe them in Clorox water like my former boss said she did. Needless to say I never ate any chicken that she brought for company lunches.

I wash my turkey and chickens...not to rid it of germs but to rid it of bits of lungs and esophagus left inside. And I wipe down everything with a clorox solution when I am done. I remember all to well the days when a turkey was covered in black pinfeathers and I spent an hour bent over the sink with tweezers getting those pinfeathers out. Nothing worse that snatching a bit of crispy turkey skin and finding a couple of pinfeathers.

I'm another chicken washer (I only use water on the chicken, the bleach comes after the chicken is in the pot.) Not turkey, though. But only because my sink is too small. I'm with Elizabeth about getting organ meat out of chicken. I can taste it if it's not out, yuck. And all those hunks of fat. Grrr.

I'm another chicken washer (I only use water on the chicken, the bleach comes after the chicken is in the pot.)

I'm another one of those - with clear water.

Lars, I do remember Jacques Pépin saying something like more power to the bird if she can make me sick. :)

I don't wash mine either.

Yes, I clean with bleach and no-one has ever gotten sick.

The turkey?

In 40 plus years I've never washed a chicken or turkey. I consider myself a fastidious cook, but bleach has no place in my kitchen.

I clean the sink and counters with bleach, not the poultry

Nope, I don't wash or rinse the poultry. I raise my own chickens and since I clean them by hand there is no residual "stuff" that needs to be removed.

My turkeys come from a local farm and they do a good job, so I also don't usually have to "clean up" after them. Commercial turkeys are cleaned by machine and especially the lungs are hard to remove.

I usually brine my birds before roasting. I remove them from the brine, pat them dry and roast, no rinsing or washing.

Annie

gardengal agreed! We need some bacteria in our lives!

My kids' Dr (35-40 years ago) was already ranting against the anti-bacterial stuff saying the super bug will come because of it! He told me to let them play in the dirt, but insisted on them being up to date on their tetanus shots cause we were surrounded by horses.

As for washing poultry, I don't. But I do defrost in warm water and do thoroughly clean counters and sinks afterward.

I had food poisoning about 25 years ago and while my overall health has been fine since, it’s not an experience I want to repeat. I tend to think some good old fashioned common sense and a few courses in food safety have gone a long way towards achieving that goal.